TRAVELERS' CHECKS

WIRE REPORTS BY EXAMINER COPY EDITOR CHRISTINE DELSOL.

Published 4:00 am, Sunday, June 14, 1998

AH: Over 60? U.S. universities have a deal for you

A TRAVEL PRIVILEGE little known to the nation's senior citizens - and even to many administrators at schools offering the plan - is available at America's major state universities. Nearly all public colleges allow people 60 and older to audit courses free of charge, and to stay at nominal charge in school dormitories during summer vacation months.

Senior citizens can travel to a university and move onto the campus (or to low-cost nearby lodgings, which are abundant in most college towns in summer). For a long list of schools that offer such facilities, visit the Web site at www.frommers.com.Click on "Special Traveler" and then on "Mature and Senior Traveler."

Most other states have some type of summer program. It may require more than one call to find an administrator familiar with the senior auditing privilege, but such programs exist at all the schools listed in the Web site above.

Huntington takes long look

at father of our country

Hand-written letters, a first printing of the Declaration of Independence and even a set of dentures will trace George Washington's development from frontiersman to general to president in "The Great Experiment: George Washington and the American Republic," coming to the Huntington library in San Marino Oct. 6.

The exhibit begins with Washington's Virginia boyhood and follows his military career, his retreat to private life and his appointment as America's first president.

After closing at the Huntington on May 30, 1999, the exhibit will move to the Pierpont Morgan Library in New York, where it will be on view until the end of that year. The Mount Vernon Ladies' Association plans a companion exhibition of about 50 of Washington's personal items, including the only surviving full set of his dentures, his gold-topped cane, and hair samples. Call (626) 405-2141 or visit the Huntington's Web site: www.huntington.org.

Orlando and London top

favorite destinations

If you like to go where everyone else is, plan on Orlando, Fla. (read Disney World), which gets top billing as the hot spot for vacationers in this country this summer.

The top overseas destination is London, according to the ASTA / Fodor's Annual Summer Hot Spots Survey.

Other favorite U.S. spots for this summer were Las Vegas, San Francisco, Los Angeles and New York. Overseas, behind London, were Paris, Rome, Cancun, Mexico, and Frankfurt, Germany.

Don't go overboard

with "Titanic' stunt

Taking a cruise this summer? Remember, "Titanic" was just a movie. When Leonardo DiCaprio leaned over the bow, eyeballed the ocean and yelled, "I'm king of the world!" he was in a fake boat in a water tank.

The Passenger Vessel Association, an industry group based in Arlington, Va., has alerted its 300 members to watch out for Leonardo wannabees trying daring-but-dangerous deeds on deck. John Groundwater, the association's executive director, says it's already happened.

Chris Hendricks, president of Spirit Marine, which runs cruises in eight U.S. cities, says there were at least three incidents in March "where a young person went out to the bow of one of our ships and stepped into an area that's blocked off to re-enact the "king of the world' scene."

Nobody was hurt, but Spirit Marine ordered its crews to step up vigilance, which led to the nationwide PVA alert.

"I hate to use this term," he says unconvincingly. "But I hope it's not the tip of the iceberg."

And another thing ...&lt;

One of the mountain parks hardest hit by El Nino was Pinnacles National Monument. The main road in from the west was washed out and might not be repaired for months. There's still access from the east side of the park, though, and most hiking trails among its volcanic peaks have reopened. ... Travelers under 25 qualify for a 10 percent discount pass good for housing at 180 dormitory-style hostels in France during this summer's World Cup games; it doesn't even matter whether they care about soccer. The "Pass Jeunes" is good all of June and July. Contact Hosteling International by e-mail: hiayhserv@hiayh.org, or on the Web at www.hiayh.org.

WORD TO THE WISE&lt;

Despite the reopening of Highway 1 through Big Sur, there will be delays on some remaining one-way sections for several months. Heavy snowfall in the mountains may keep some roads closed later into the year than usual. For information, phone the Caltrans Highway Information Network, (916) 445-7623, or check the state's DOT Web site, www.dot.ca.gov Kristin Jackson The Seattle Times

A FINAL THOUGHT

A journey is a person in itself; no two are alike. -
John Steinbeck
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